Granddad's Stories
by LeDbrite
Summary: While relaxing and hanging out, Simmons, Fitz, and Skye convince Trip to share some family stories. As the grandson of a Howling Commando, he must have some good ones. One-shot.


A/N: This is going with the theory that Gabe Jones is Triplett's grandfather. It's based upon two ideas:

1) Trip hearing stories from his Grandpa as a kid.

And 2) What if Gabe Jones had seen Bucky fall from the train and how would he react?

So combined, it's story time with Trip.

* * *

/\\\/\\\

* * *

 _"…It was a night mission… Nothing we hadn't done hundreds of times before… It's like I was up there only to watch…" -Sam Wilson (Falcon) 'CA:TWS'_

…

Popping the lid off her drink, Simmons took a sip before flashing an eager smile at Trip. "As the grandson of a Howling Commando, did your grandfather have any interesting stories?" she queried lightly.

Quick grins found their way on Skye and Fitz's faces, sharing Simmons' curiosity, their own drinks sitting untouched before them, forgotten for the moment.

Glancing between the three, Trip leaned back in his seat, taking a long, slow draw from his bottle, gaining a moment to think. A fond expression entered his smile as he answered. "Yeah, when he was in the mood, he could tell some great ones," Trip agreed.

"Like what?" Skye urged, leaning forward in an encouraging gesture. An allusion to the stories was simply not going to do, not on a day like this. Opportunities to relax were few and far between, and a few old stories sounded like the best way to spend it.

Between missions, the team stayed at the Playground, resting and recuperating, preparing, gathering intel for the next mission. Spacious though it was, the facility large enough for one to avoid company for the entirety of a day if they wanted to, the four found themselves returning to the Bus. It was familiar, and while they hadn't consciously sought it for this reason, it was more comfortable to enjoy a beer in familiar settings.

Still coping with the mess H.Y.D.R.A. had made of their agency, and the consequential betrayals, sometimes it was best to ignore it and revel in the fact that they were still alive. Besides, Coulson couldn't begrudge them some downtime between missions.

Flashing an easy going smile, Trip began thoughtfully, "Granddad's best story, I think, was when he met Captain America. But I don't think I can tell it as well as he did," he warned with a laugh.

"Nah, that's okay," Fitz assured, unfazed by the warning and dismissing it with a careless wave of his hand.

"If we wanted the original story, we'd ask your grandfather," Simmons added smartly.

"He passed away," Trip stated matter-of-factly. "But if you really want to hear it…?" He drew out the last syllable, teasing them, the quirk to his smile giving away the fact that he had never really had any intentions of keeping it from them.

Relaxing back into his seat, eyes becoming thoughtful, Trip began plainly, "In 1943, the 107th was captured. Granddad shared a cell with Dugan and Falsworth, laboring on machine parts for H.Y.D.R.A. and unsure whether a rescue would come for them or not. Imagined how surprised they were when this lone man showed up and started knocking out guards," Trip commented with a chuckle. "When Granddad asked, 'Who're you supposed to be?' the man gave the craziest answer they had ever heard, 'I'm Captain America.' While it was strange, they couldn't really argue with him since he had freed them. But than a moment later, he went on to say something even crazier, 'I've knocked out Adolf Hitler over two hundred times'."

"Did Captain America actually say that?" Skye demanded, amazed incredulity on her face.

"My granddad swore to it," Trip promised.

"Isn't it mind boggling to think that no one knew who Captain America was then?" Simmons mused.

"That's not true," Fitz corrected.

"I know," she replied, bumping him lightly, shaking her head with a slight grin. "I meant, you know, no one knew he was a hero."

"Did your grandfather know Captain America well?" Skye interrupted, over running Fitz and Simmons' discussion.

"Yeah," Trip answered simply. "He was his captain, the only man Granddad truly followed, I believe."

"Did he tell many stories about him?" Skye pressed, speaking for the three of them as Fitz and Simmons had returned their attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Not really," Trip admitted. "Most were too personally and painful to speak about."

"Can you tell the ones he did share?" Simmons requested softly.

Nodding, he conceded, "There was one…" Fingering the lip of his bottle, he took a moment, reconstructing the story in his head, hearing his grandfather's voice as he remembered how it went. "It was the one that got me the most," Trip said quietly, becoming pensive. "About the mission in the Alps, where Barnes died."

The other hushed, eyes wide, attentive, not wanting to miss a single syllable, though they were all familiar with the outcome of the story.

"Granddad went down onto the train with the Cap and Barnes, just the three of them. His job was to get to Zola while the other two dealt with the men inside." Releasing a deep sigh, he said heavily, "He was a few cars away from the head of the train when the explosion rocked it. Looking back, he was able to see Barnes hanging on the outside of the train. Too far away to help, there was nothing he could do, except watch, as Cap tried and failed to save Barnes. Afterwards, he only remembered the fury he felt towards Zola when he arrested him since the man had cost them a teammate."

They sat in silence, contemplating Trip's story. It put a damper on the light hearted mood, allowing some of the trouble they had pushed to the back of their minds to seep in, reminding them that things didn't always happen like they were expected. Though of a different time and circumstance, the story still managed to hit a little close to home.

"Of course," Trip proceeded, passing a wry smile among the three. "On the mission immediately after that, the Cap went down." Expression becoming pensive, voice dropping in volume, he concluded quietly, "But Granddad never really speaks about what happened on that mission. The one thing that seemed to stand out to him about it was how Captain America had grown tired of fighting. According to Granddad, it was like he didn't care about the outcome of the war or his own safety, just as long as H.Y.D.R.A. was destroyed."

"And we all know how that turned out," Skye mused, adding to the levity, though there was also a hint of deprecating humor in her tone.

* * *

oOo

* * *

"Hey," May said, joining Phil outside the room. "I would've thought you'd be in there."

"Wasn't invited," Phil replied with a slight smile.

Studying the group, she asked quietly, "Does it surprise you? Hearing that Captain America was tired of fighting?"

"No," Phil answered, folding his arms thoughtfully. "Captain Rodgers was in a difficult place after he woke up. Everything he had devoted himself to was gone, and he had been left out of time. Fury approached him about joining S.H.I.E.L.D. but he refused, not ready to get involved. All he had left was the serum, and he couldn't deny that there was still a need for him, so after a few weeks he joined." Shrugging slightly, he added simply, "Besides, being a soldier was the only thing he knew how to be."


End file.
